Designing information technology systems is what I do for a living in the real world. At least until the Fairy Godfather of Books comes along and blesses me with J.K.Rowling popularity. The goal is to “idiot proof” the GUI (graphic user interface.) Make it intuitive. Make it not so difficult to grasp how things are done with minimal instruction.

Unfortunately, this isn’t happening with me and WordPress. Maybe part of the problem I have is my aversion to public diaries. Trying to convince myself I’m starting a conversation with friends or strangers doesn’t help, either. I was always that kid who was ignored when she spoke until someone needed help understanding their pre-calculus or chemistry homework. So the allure of talking to the wall has some emotional ramifications that are a struggle to get by.

So, here is WordPress. Gods gift to the blogging world, apparently. I’m not saying the system isn’t good. But I can’t afford to pay for “premium” and the free stuff is… frankly, ugly. So visually, I dislike my blog because I can’t make it “mine.” And then there are the tools and the dashboard and well. My usual method of “just click stuff and see what happens” doesn’t help me because I have no idea what the hell it’s all doing. Or when it does something, I can’t figure out how to get back to where I was from where I ended up. What the hell, right?

So, going to keep plugging away at this thing. But it’s ugly. And it’s awkward. So don’t expect a lot. I write novels. Those, I understand.